Monday, August 27, 2007

All week, I've been thinking the same thing, with brief pauses for things like food and coffee: "Why does the White House remind me of That 70s Show?" I picture it like this: President Bush and Vice President Cheney are teenagers. (I know the time frames don't fit. Keep still.) They are sitting in a basement, experimenting with what we'll call certain botanical products. They enjoy said botanicals, but are aware that they are highly illicit. Suddenly, old man Leahy is home! "Oh, crap, Dick!" "You said it, George!" "We're screwed! Hide the stuff!" Weird, huh? Probably just my imagination running away with me. On a completely unrelated note, Alberto Gonzales's departure -- hard on the heels of Karl Rove -- reveals a serious flaw in the administration's political strategy. They seem to believe that if their more vicious hatchetmen aren't on TV all the time clearly labeled as members of said administration, congressional Dems pushing subpoenas will recede back into the woodwork. Guess again, guys. After the brief flurry that the departures have caused, it's true that the public will stop paying so much attention to the ongoing legal "battle of the branches." But it's a legal fight now, and the fact that Rove and Gonzales are no longer public figures doesn't matter in the least to Leahy and company. You can hide stuff in the sofa, but it'll get found all the same.